Philip Bloom says...Canon FD Lenses are soft...what's the story?

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mikecazzx

Well-known member
Novice here looking for other opinions. I picked up a 50mm 1.4 FD and a 28mm Wide FD 2.8 for adapted use on GH1. Are they really that bad? I am pretty excited to try out the 28mm Wide. I just figured out how to get it adapted after letting it sit around for a year. I kind of liked the 50mm too.

Assuming we are not shooting wide open are these lenses really that bad or soft? If so what affordable glass is good and sharp?
 
Ummm I've never heard him say that but he might be referring to using them on Canon EOS DSLRs. This requires optical adaptors and can severely degrade the image.
 
Ben_B said:
Ummm I've never heard him say that but he might be referring to using them on Canon EOS DSLRs. This requires optical adaptors and can severely degrade the image.
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I think you may be right - he may have been strictly speaking for Canon's. I should maybe pull this post.
 
I owned those lenses. They are beautiful lenses and will look great on your GH1. Just remember for best performance, always stop a lens down one stop. Happy shooting.

If you can find one, try to get the FD 17mm F4, it will look great as a wider angle of view on the m4/3 sensor.
 
TimurCivan said:
I owned those lenses. They are beautiful lenses and will look great on your GH1. Just remember for best performance, always stop a lens down one stop. Happy shooting.

If you can find one, try to get the FD 17mm F4, it will look great as a wider angle of view on the m4/3 sensor.
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How would contrast the kit lens which seems very wide with the Canon FD 17mm. For example would you sell the kit lens to get the FD?
 
Have a look at the videos in my sig file - they are all shot with FDs except Sthlm Rim Shots - and tell me if they look unusably soft to you.
 
pentax

pentax

I prefer my Pentax 1.7 50mm over my FD 50mm 1.4, seems much sharper to me and it has better colors/contrast.
 
TimurCivan said:
I owned those lenses. They are beautiful lenses and will look great on your GH1. Just remember for best performance, always stop a lens down one stop. Happy shooting.

If you can find one, try to get the FD 17mm F4, it will look great as a wider angle of view on the m4/3 sensor.
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I owned that 17mm f4 Canon FD lens some 20 years ago, and contrary to all the other Canon FD lenses I owned (which were very sharp at least stopped down) this one would never be really sharp. Maybe I had just got a bad sample, but I would be cautious regarding that lens.
 
It will only be pulling 1080p worth of resolution. Even if the lens is a touch soft it will still read as sharp in hd.

Ever seen how soft some SD lenses are on hd eng cameras? Same idea. It doesn't look soft on the low resolution sensor.

1080p is considered low resolution when compaing to 35mm still/motion picture film.
 
JackBayer said:
I´m half sure that he reads along here on dvxuser, so maybe he´ll be able to clarify. But you could always ask him via his website: http://philipbloom.net/
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Ok I found the quote. I was wrong. It seems like he is speaking directly about using it on Canon cameras with a Canon adapter that has glass in it. Canon FD lenses. I do not think he is speaking about Canon FD adapted to the GH1

Quote:
Avoid the Canon FD lenses. You need an adaptor with glass in it to make it work with the EOS cameras and they simply do not work well. Soft am afraid! A real shame as there are lots of affordable FD lenses out there…
 
bitcrusher said:
I am looking to get one as the 14mm is way too expensive for my blood.
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I recently picked up a sigma 19mm FD, On ebay for 150.00. Brand new in box. Must have been in a closet for years.

I love Canon Fd glass. And frankly it really doesn't matter who dislikes it. If you like the image it produces, well,, then thats all that matters.
 
Actually that was one of the attractions of the m43 format for a lot of folks. You can use all that old FD glass, without needing an optical adapter.
 
God i feel so stupid for selling all my FD Glass...

i had the most beautiful set... hand picked over 30 years handed down from my pops... i figured i'd never be able to adapt them to anything again.

I had,

16mm Zenit fisheye F2.8 ( a REALLY good one too... i bought and sold three of them till i found a good one)
17mm FD SSC F4
20mm FD SSC F2.8
24mm FD SSC F2.0
35mm FDSSC F2.0
55mm FD SSC F1.2
85mm Lseries FD F1.2 ( best lens i've ever owned)
135mm FD SSC F2.0
200mm FD SSC F2.8

All SSC lenses.. the pre cursor to L series. I think it stood for "Super Spectra Coating" or something like that...

MMmmmm. Regret... so much regret.

I did however get $2000 for the set. Which is a great price for 30 year old still glass.
 
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